Mixed response to chemo (again!)

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Hello everyone,

I wondered if anyone else had ever had a mixed response to any particular drugs? I am on my fourth cycle of paclitaxel and the skin mets on my chest are showing a good response, whilst the skin mets and tumours in my head and neck continue to grow. Have asked onc why, but they don’t know and just say its ‘unusual’. My (armchair) theory is that I have two different types of BC going on at the same time, each with its own characterisics re grade, negatives etc. This has been verbally dismissed by them as 'highly unlikely 'although no biopsies taken. My cancer you see started on one side and then seemed to ‘jump’ to the other (the new lump on the otherside was ‘very unlikely’ to be cancer yet turned out to be). I think its quite possible it could have been a new primary, this is not unheard of.

What does anyone else think? Has anyone else had this experience?

Thanks for your advice

Bex1 xx

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Hi Bex,
It is perfectly possible for the second cancer to be a new primary with different characteristics.It may be unusual but it does happen.Lulu34 on here has had Grade 1 ER+ in one breast and Grade 3 Triple neg in the other 3 years later.It seems bad for them to just assume its the same without biopsy.Maybe you should ask for more investigations.
Good luck
Love
Dot
xxx

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Hi Bex
I have also had a new 2nd primary with different characteristics. In 2007 a tumour in right breast which was hormone positive (lumpectomy, chemo & rads), then in 2008 triple neg tumour in same breast (mastectomy this time).
Best wishes with your treatment.

Carol

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Hi Bex…I had a friend who had 2 primaries…1 er+ and the 2nd was er-. It took a long while for the docs to realise they were not the same cancer. x

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Hi

When I got my primary diagnosis in 2006 I asked the doctor to remove all my lymph nodes, to which he said I was basically being over the top and remove some the nodes and check them would be ample. The nodes at this time were all clear.

However 14 months later in feb last year I have to deal with secondary breast cancer that I may not have had if I have trusted my instincts and my gut and insisted he removed them all.

So my advice is don’t let go off this and trust your instincts it may be highly unlikely but if it’s not impossible insist that they are sure 100 %.

Love

Diane

xx